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Source: The post is based on the article “73% Smart City projects completed” published in The Hindu on 24th May 2023
What is the News?
The Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs has informed about the progress made under the Smart Cities Mission (SCM).
What is the Smart Cities Mission (SCM)?
Implementation of the mission: The mission is monitored by an Apex Committee headed by the Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. It regularly reports on the progress of projects through the Real-Time Geographical Management Information System.
– A Smart City Advisory Forum (SCAF) has also been established at the city level to advise and enable collaboration among various stakeholders.
– For each smart city, a Special Purpose Vehicle(SPV) has also been created to plan, appraise, approve, release funds, implement, manage, operate, monitor and evaluate the Smart City development projects.
What is the progress in the Smart City Mission?
More than 90% of the funds allocated under the Smart Cities Mission (SCM) have been utilized till now while 73% of the projects have been completed.
What does the Standing Committee on Housing and Urban Affairs say about the Mission in its report?
The Standing Committee on Housing and Urban Affairs has noted the contrasting difference in the performance of cities under the Smart Cities Mission.
It said that on the one hand, 32 smart cities have completed more than the number of projects planned for implementation under the SCM, in some cases even four times more than the actual target.
On the other hand, the remaining 68 smart cities are yet to meet the project completion targets wherein the performance of some cities is quite dismal.
Therefore, the total number of completed projects gives a misleading picture because it also takes into account the excess projects accomplished by 32 performing smart cities.
